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The number of adults with coronary heart disease is expected to rise by a quarter during this decade, a report has said.
By 2020 132,000 people are expected to have angina or a heart attack, researchers added.
Heart disease remains one of the main killers in Northern Ireland despite huge improvements in its treatment over many years, the Public Health Agency said.
Dr Christine McMaster, public health consultant at the agency, warned: "We clearly have to do more to prevent and treat it so that people here have a better chance to remain healthy and live independently in their communities as they grow up and old."
In 2010 it was estimated that more than 107,000 adults had been diagnosed with coronary heart disease.
Other key findings of the research include that diagnosed heart disease is more common among older people, with almost a quarter of pensioners affected in 2010. Rates of diagnosis are higher among men than women.
By 2020 the number of diagnosed adults is expected to rise to almost 132,000, a 23% increase over ten years from 2010. Researchers said the implications could be even greater than the statistics suggested because they did not include people with undiagnosed heart disease.
Dr McMaster added: "Heart disease remains one of the main killers in Northern Ireland and this is despite huge improvements in its treatment over many years."
She said other government departments needed to play their part in creating healthier and safer environments for people.
The research was conducted by the Institute of Public Health in Ireland in collaboration with the Centre of Excellence for Public Health Northern Ireland at Queen's University Belfast and Health Research Board Centre for Diet and Health Research at University College Cork. It is based on the 2005/06 Northern Ireland Health and Social Wellbeing Survey.
